The 3rd Annual Hunger Games
by jon199
Summary: All of your friends have been chosen for the Hunger Games. You can't do anything about it. You'll have to fight them sooner or later, and if you don't, they will kill you. It's amazing how quick friends can change to enemies.
1. Character Descriptions

**As I continued writing my story here, I noticed that I have little detail on characters. I made this to help me cover up for that. This is a chart of all the characters that matter.**

**Name:****_Body description, hair color and length. Body type. Height: -' -''. Age: -_**

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Ashley English: _Brown skin with long, black hair. Thin and quick. Height: 5' 7'' Age: 16_

Schuyler Taylor: _Black skin with short, black hair. Thin, but with muscle. Height: 6' 2'' Age: 16_

Marticka Davis: _Light skin with medium length, black hair. Bulky/Strong. Height: 5' 8'' Age: 17_

Tyler Lapolla: _White skin with medium length, black hair. Thin, but with muscle. Height: 5' 9'' Age: 16_

Marrissa Bean:_ Light brown skin with long, black hair. Thin and quick. Height: 5' 8'' Age: 16_

Jonathan Chantry:_ Brown skin with short, brown hair. Bulky/Strong. Height: 6' 0'' Age: 16_

Joseph Cronen:_ Light skin with medium length, black hair. Thin, but with muscle. Height: 5' 11'' Age: 15_

Ethan Jensen:_ Brown skin with medium length, black hair. Bulky/Strong. Height: 6' 0'' Age: 16_

Tyler Davis: _Light skin with short, black hair. Small, but with muscle. Height: 5' 5'' Age: 12_

Brooklyn Davis: _White skin with long, black hair. Thin body type. Height: 5' 5'' Age: 14_

John Stoddard:_ White skin with medium length, black hair. Thin body type. Height: 5' 10'' Age: 16_

Geoffrey Shaw:_ Light skin with short, brown hair. Thin body type. Height: 5' 9'' Age: 16_

Claire Holden: _Brown skin with long, black hair. Thin and quick. Height: 5' 11'' Age: 16_

William (Billy) Black:_ Light skin with medium length, blonde hair. Bulky body type with glasses. Height: 6' 0'' Age: 16_

Mason Keller: _Light skin with medium length, light brown hair. Thin body type with glasses. Height: 5' 10'' Age: 17_

Braden Smith: _Light brown skin with short, brown hair. Thick and muscle-ey. Height: 6' 7'' Age: 17_

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**That didn't really come out the way I wanted it to... but it's still better than nothing.**

**So... I hope that helps, to some extent. Thank you for reading. :3**


	2. Prolog

**If you are reading this, that means you have forced your way past the crappy summary in order to read yet another fanfic of the Hunger Games. Thank you, sir or ma'am, whichever you may be. :)**

**Please bear with me. This is my first actual story posted. I'm not quite sure how I did... feedback is always welcome.**

_***Edit: I'm in the middle of rewriting this, trying to add more detail, etc. Again, please bear with me. I'm still trying to get a writing style going...**_

* * *

Every teenage eye in the crowd watched as the representative sent from the Capitol, a short, scrawny woman with a bad attitude, took the stage. She began her drawn out speech about how being in the "Games" was an honor, how lucky you were if you were picked to be in them, _blah, blah, blah._ That story doesn't fool us. We all knew that if you were chosen to be in, you were going to die. District 3 tributes haven't had a good chance of surviving. They were some of the first ones killed in the past two Games. Why start a different trend now?

The pink bowl filled with the name of every single girl between 12 and 18 rolled onto the stage. Some were only entered once, others were entered many times. It's terrible that one has a higher chance of getting picked for this death sentence if he or she is poor and has needed to take loans. That's almost like getting two slaps in the face at once.

As for myself, I have very little chance of getting called. I've been too smart to try any type help from the Capitol. A small portion of food isn't worth getting called to be in a Hunger Games.

Out of nervousness, I almost miss the rep. call out the female tribute's name.

"Marrissa Bean."

I watch as a tenuous girl, Marrissa, I assume, gets up nervously out of her seat and walks slowly to the stage. She looks saddened by the sudden change that will determine the rest of her life. I don't blame her; it's a large load to take on at once.

The girls' bowl is moved out and quickly replaced by another in the color of blue. _The male tribute's bowl. _I feel my anxiety rise. Four of my friends had already been picked in different districts. I don't want to face them in a fight to the death.

_There's not a chance._ I try telling myself. _I can't get picked; there are too many names in that bowl of theirs._ The representative reaches into the bowl, wearing the plastic smile that many of the Capitol officials do. _Chances are against it. There's no way I could be picked to go. What are the odds that-_

"Jonathan Chantry"

My heart skips a beat. _Never mind. _I shakily stand up and join Marrissa on the stage as the representative gives yet another speech, one that I'm _sure_ she's been planning for months.

_Now what? _I close my eyes, trying to keep, or at least look, calm. _I have to face Ashley, Schuyler, Tyler, and Marticka? I don't have a chance…_ I begin to feel lightheaded and dizzy, but I ignore it.

_They're my friends! I've known them for longer than I remember. I don't think I'd be able to go against them, even if I had to…_

Apparently, while I was lost in thought, I began to tip over, as if I was going to blackout. Marrissa reaches a hand out and shakes me back to reality. "You okay?" she asks quietly to avoid attracting attention.

I quickly clear out the hopeless thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine." Marrissa doesn't look like she believes me, but she stays quiet. I've never been a very good liar.

Walking behind her and the rest of the Capitol personnel, exiting the stage, the thoughts start to return. _Please, don't let any of my other friends get caught in this death trap…_

* * *

"Ashley English"

Ashley's mind went blank when she heard her named called out at the reaping. People around her started trying to get her to stand up. _Did I just get called? _She thought. _No, there must be another "Ashley English" in District 1… _She tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't allow her to. A few of the surrounding people had to help her to her feet. She carefully walked up to the stage, making sure she didn't collapse. When she finally got there, she felt dizzy. "May I sit down?" she asked the representative.

He looked at her strangely. "Sure, I guess. Just don't die before the games start, we don't want to pick someone else."

_Heartless._ Ashley thought. _If I'm this bad now, how will it be in the arena?_ She just sat quietly and waited for the next tribute to be picked.

"Schuyler Taylor"

Schuyler popped right up, but not out of eagerness. "What?" he said. "You have to be kidding me? I'm a tribute with Ashley?" _I don't want to have to kill her!_ "Are you sure you read that card right?"

The Capitol worker glared at him. "Yes, I am sure, now please, hurry up!"

Schuyler quickly jogged up to the stage. Ashley was just as surprised as he was. They had been friends for a good time, even before the Capitol takeover. Now they were going to have to fight each other to the death?

_I hope someone else gets to her first, _Schuyler thought, _because I wouldn't be able to do the job._ They both walked down the stage, led by the rushed representative.

* * *

"Marticka Davis"

Marticka had forgotten how to breathe when she heard her name called. The shock quickly subsided as her older sister elbowed her.

_Why me? I'll never be able to fight. I'm not going to be able to fight friends. Is this a sick joke? _The thoughts ran through her head. _This is going to be a long month. _She bit her lip as she stood on the stage.

"Tyler Lapolla"

Tyler got straight up, and walked calmly up to the stage. He, unlike other tributes, wasn't afraid of the Hunger Games. In fact, he looked forward to be called up for one. He could've volunteered in the past, but what's the fun in that? What was even better was that Ashley _and _Schuyler are both coming in as well.

_I can finally get revenge on those two for helping make my life miserable._

Marticka gave him a weird look just before they turned to walk off the platform. She must've sensed something going on inside his head. He could smell the scent of blood already.

* * *

"Marrissa Bean"

Marrissa, even though she was the calmest and most responsible out of all her friends, started hyperventilating when her name was called. _I can't stand the sight of blood. I'll probably lose quickly._ She felt claustrophobic, her hands shaking. She almost fainted, but forced her jelly legs to move forward to the stage.

The male tribute, Jonathan, came up and stood next to her. He looked as bad as she did, like he would pass out himself. Marrissa grabbed his shoulder and shook him. His eyes opened wide, as if he had just woken up from a dream. "You okay?" she asked.

He paused for a moment, and then answered, "Yeah, I'm fine."

_I hope he's not as bad as me, or else neither of us have a chance to win for the District._

* * *

"Joseph Cronen"

_That figures._ Joseph thought. _I might as well take my spot up in front._ He walked up and stood next to the female tribute, Cheyenne Donnelly. Joseph had heard that several people he knew had also been called as a tribute. He really didn't care. _I probably won't have a chance anyways. _

He stopped himself for a minute. _But, maybe I can use my old pal Chantry to help me along._ He smiled as a plan came into his mind.

* * *

"Ethan Jensen"

Ethan's mind jolted from his daydreaming. _What? Me? But…_ He stood up to take his spot next to Rebecca Accord, the other tribute from District 5. She had also gone to elementary with him, but that didn't faze him any.

_All of my friends are in these games! Jonathan, Marticka, Ashley, Schuyler, Tyler, everyone! Jonathan is my best friend, I can't kill him! Everyone else isn't as close... but they still mean something!_

When Rebecca gave him a confused look, he tried to calm down, but he just couldn't. _How could this be happening? Are all the ballots rigged or something? This doesn't make sense._ They headed off the stage, Ethan nearly tripping down the stairs as he went.

* * *

"Brooklyn Davis"

Brooklyn had been horrified when her cousin had been chosen. Now, there was even more horror. _I'm going in? But… Tecka is going in! _She started to cry, unable to control it. Her body shuddered in fear. So far, she was the youngest to be chosen. She let go of her brother's hand.

Tyler watched his older sister take a place upon the stage.

"Tyler Davis"

The speaker said loudly. The siblings froze.

Brooklyn screamed, "No! He CANNOT come!"

Tyler slowly made his way to his older sister. He'd barely turned 12 this month. "I'm fine with…" he started to whisper to his sister, but she was glaring coldly.

"No." Tears sill ran down her face. "You can't come!"

* * *

"John Stoddard"

John placed his head between his knees. _Everything has to happen to me._ He thought glumly. _All of the friends that I've known are somehow participating in this same set of Hunger Games. How the heck that happened, I don't want to even guess. I already know who my competition is, and I don't have a single chance._

People around him started yelling at him to get up. "Yeah, yeah," he said, "I'm going, give me a break." He got up, and one thought passed his mind while walking to the stage: _At least give me time before I walk strait into my death sentence._

* * *

"Claire Holden"

Claire got up silently and walked up solemnly to the podium. _What did I do to deserve this? I haven't needed to hurt anyone before, but now I have to go into the killing of the Games?_

This was true, actually. Claire wouldn't hurt a fly, and even if she did, she'd make sure it was healed back up before it left her sight. _Tecka, her cousins, many others… What am I going to do?_ Tears streamed down her face as she tried to take it all in. At least she had a few friends who haven't been called to death yet.

"Geoffrey Shaw"

_That was one of them._

Geoff looked stunned as he conjured up what just happened. _I'm going to fight…Claire?! But, how?! _He probably would've been fine fighting anyone else, but Claire, along with Marticka, Ethan, and Jon?

_Crap…crap…crap…_ he thought as he trudged up to the stage. Claire and he exchanged one last glance before they walked off the stage. Neither of them knew what would happen, nor did they want to know.

* * *

"William Black"

Billy frowned. _I wish people would stop calling me that; my name is Billy! _His mind scrambled to find what had just happened. By the looks of annoyance from a tribute not walking up to the stage, he guessed that he had become District 10's male tribute.

_What's happening to all of us?_ He thought, finally getting up. _First we get sent to all these random districts, I get sent to cow country, and now we have to fight each other? What are the odds?_ He stood next to some little girl named Zules Valdez.

_Not enough that she gets an embarrassing name, but she has to fight at such a young age. What a cruel world..._ Billy and Zules walked off the stage, hoping that no other close friend(s) would be picked.

* * *

"Mason Keller"

Mason gasped a little louder than he meant to. He got up, taking one last look at his little brother and sister, and headed for the stage.

Suddenly, his little brother, Alex, ran up in front of him and yelled "You can't take Mason away! Take me instead! I'll volunteer for him!"

Mason quickly knelt down and held his hand over Alex's mouth. "Listen, Alex," he said in his ear, "you can't go. You have to stay here and take care of your sister."

Tears glisten in the little sibling's eyes as he yanked himself away. "No! You need to take care of mom here! You can't just leave us!"

Mason shook his head and said, "That's your job now, Alex."

Alex refused to leave. Mason finally turned to one of the guards. "Could you please take my brother back to his seat?" he asked. The guard nodded and carried the screaming 12 year-old back to the Kellers' seats. Mason ran up to the stage, where the other tribute, Claudia Guzman, was waiting.

"There's no one left to care for your brother and sister?" Claudia asked. Mason shook his head slowly, and she replied, "I'm sorry to hear that."

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**And that is it. I do realize it is confusing. I'm trying to work on that. It is only to explain some of the backgrounds of my characters.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 1: Into the Capitol

**So here is the ****_actual _****first chapter... The prolog is just an introduction of all of the characters who will actually matter in the long run.**

_**I have perfect grammar everywhere else. Why can't I have it while writing on my computer? **_**-_-'**

**Let me know what things I need to fix. I am still new... (NEWB)... and don't have a real style of writing yet...**

**Aside from that, Enjoy!**

* * *

"What?!" I yelled. We got on the train to the Capitol a few minutes ago, and I sat watching all of the other tributes get picked. Ironically, every single one of my friends (before the Capitol took over) got picked. Something was rigged; there's no way it could've been a coincidence. _Ashley, Schuyler, Ethan, Tyler, Marticka, Claire, Billy, Geoff, the list goes on._ _And somehow, I get stuck in this crap too._

Marrissa, sitting next to me, tries to change my mood, "Well, maybe it's not as bad as you think it is. Maybe someone else will, I don't know, take care of them before you?"

"No," I say, looking out the window, "There's not a good chance of that. Over half, no, two-thirds of the tributes have some kind of friendship with me. I couldn't hurt any of them if I needed to." The conversation ends there.

The train ride was another day because we had to pick up all the other tributes. Marticka, who came on just before me, ended up bugging me the whole way. Probably because there was nothing else better to do, and the fact that she used to do it back before the Capitol war and bombings. When we start to pick up people like Joseph and Mason, I get annoyed even more. _This is going to be a long trip._

Finally, once the tortu-, I mean, the train ride, was over, all of us were directed into a large building named the Training Center. Being that we arrived in the morning, we actually just got the rest of the day off. From what, exactly, I couldn't tell you.

Our District 3 mentor, some other idiot sent from the Capitol, warned us not to get too "attached", or share too much information with the other tributes, but I can't help myself. They're my friends, right? I haven't seen them for a few years, so naturally I'd want to talk about my troubles with the Capitol.

"So," I start as we all group together in a random room, "am I crazy, or is everyone else shocked by the coincidence of all of us being on the same Hunger Games tribute team?"

"You're just crazy." Marticka smirked.

I sigh. "I was kidding about that part. Still, isn't it weird?"

Cheyenne Donnelly, the female tribute from District 4, spoke up. "Well," she said, "I don't know what you all are talking about, but I don't see it as weird that 24 tributes got picked for a Hunger Games. It's been that way for the last two years, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Mason explained, "but, not like this. You'd understand under other circumstances. Changing subjects, what kind of food do you guys get in your districts? Ours sucks."

_Good old Mason, always trying to change the subject to a happier one._

A tasteful dinner was established, and then all of the tributes were forced to bed by mentors. Apparently, tomorrow there is a parade that kicks off the Hunger Games. The tributes dress up in costumes that the stylists for the district make. This is supposed to get the crowds to like you. All of us get to meet our stylists tomorrow, which is limited time in my opinion, but whatever. I honestly don't care what happens; the only thing I need to think about in the end is how I'll survive.

The tribute sleeping quarters is divided into 12 different floors. It's quite simple really, you just need to push your number of district on an elevator button panel and you go to your floor. Good thing too, because some of my friends aren't as… uh… sensible _(that sounds right) _as they should be.

Marrissa and I get up to our floor. It is a short meeting as I say, "Goodnight, I guess."

She looks a bit startled, but answers back, "yeah, goodnight."

I walk into my room and sit on the bed. It isn't very big; just enough to live in. The walls are a dull white. However, I can't complain with the softness of the mattress. It's weird, some of the things in the Capitol. Tributes receive the illusion of being a prisoner, but at the same time get treated like V.I.P. guests.

Before I lie down, I remember a light blue badge in my pocket and take it out, placing it on the dresser next to me.

_*"As part of the rules of the Hunger Games, each tribute is allowed to bring one item from their district." The representative told both of us. "We are a bit early this time, so you have a few minutes to go get something from houses, if you have any. Please hurry, though, we're on a tight schedule to catch the train from District 2." _

_I ran back to my semi-empty house and grabbed a small badge. It had a black water drop with two lightning bolts running through it. Behind it were gray storm clouds, backed by a light blue background. Putting it in my pocket, I made it back just before the train left the station.*_

Dang flashbacks.

Before the Capitol took over and all of us got split up, we all pitched in to make sure we wouldn't forget about each other. We made separate badges that are supposed to represent something about ourselves. For example, water really is my kind of "element", if you know what I mean. My badge represents a rainstorm. Every time we look at the badges, we are supposed to remember each other… or that's how it's supposed to go. Personally, I don't need a small badge to remember my pals, but it's still an emblem that the Capitol didn't destroy on the raid of the United States. That at least means something to me.

Staring up at the ceiling, I keep getting the strange feeling that all of this was set up somehow. I know that all of the picks were randomized, but the odds of all of us in the same Hunger Games? Very slim. Can the ballots get rigged? If so, who would rig them?

The theory seems unreal to me. I shouldn't worry about it too much. _It's not like it will matter in a few weeks._ An opponent is an opponent. Knowing most of them does give an advantage.

Speaking of skills, do I even have a chance? A lot of my friends are good at various things. Tyler and Marticka have been trained in weaponry, due to them living in District 2. Mason and Ethan have some physical aspect to them, not much, but still there. All of the others, they've probably invested in some kind of skill from living in specific districts. I've learned a lot of things from living in District 3; their specialty is technology. I have somewhat good aim with a bow and arrow or guns, but that's about it. The only thing I have going for me is physical strength, but being in a sit-on-your-butt-and-mess-with-electronics-all-day district has made me slightly out of shape.

All skills aside, who says that any of us will have the guts to "do the job" when it comes time? I know how I feel about it, and if I know any other of the tributes, most of the feel the same way. Maybe not. I don't know at this point; my mind's completely confused.

_In a short time I won't need to worry about any of this. _I think as I slowly drift to sleep._ Let's focus on getting through until then._

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**That is it. Comment, rate, rage, spam, and do whatever else as you see fit. :)**


	4. Chapter 2: Parade

**Here is Chapter 2, ready for public consumtion. **

**It is difficult to make a story focusing on one main character, and almost fifteen other lesser ones... Please, again, bear with me if it starts to get boring. I promise that all of the chapters aren't like this. :P**

* * *

Morning comes too soon. "Wake up, Jon." A voice says.

I refuse to do so until the intruder of my sleep starts shaking me awake. "Please wake up Jon."

"Ugh," I grumble. I open my eyes and jump when I see a pair of female eyes staring back into mine.

"Oh, sorry," she says, and steps back.

I sit up and reply, "Er… its fine. You wanted me?"

"Yes, excuse me for not introducing myself. My name's Karol, I'm your stylist."

_So do the guys get girl stylists and the girls get guy stylists?_ Interesting thought. "Oh," I continue, "ok. What'cha need?"

She looked anxiously at her watch. "The parade starts in a couple hours," she says, "and we really need to start on getting you remade."

_Remade? Do I even want to ask?_ "Before breakfast, huh?" I state dumber than I meant to. "Whatever you say, Karol…"

_Remaking_ is taking someone back to _beauty_ base 0. Basically, it's taking someone back to what they look like without any dirt, blemishes, etc. Being a guy from District 3, where you hardly even see dirt, it's not too bad. Sitting in a robe within the "Remake Center", a few floors down from the main floor, I wish luck for those tributes from the dirtier districts, like Billy and Mason.

Karol walks in the room and sits down next to me. "I had an idea for the costume," she starts, "but I'm not sure if you'll be fine with it."

"It's not really my decision, is it?" I laugh, "Anything that you're good with, I probably will be to. You're the professional here." She nods and rushes into another room.

When she comes back, she is holding a grey, metallic jumpsuit. Before I could ask any questions, she pushes a button at the wrist and the image on the suit changes. It's now a bunch of metal gears spinning against each other. There are also a few gears that bounce around the costume and every time that they bump against another one, sparks look as if they could almost come out of the costume. She quickly turns it back off, and says, "Do you think it will be fine?"

I sit there dumbfounded until I realize that she had asked me a question. "Fine? Just fine? It's amazing! To represent a district of technology that well in just a few minutes is astounding! One question though, how do you get all of those designs on the costume? It's almost like they're real…"

She throws the costume at me. "No time to explain, just put the thing on."

Is it safe to say that clothing looks better actually on a person then when not? The costume, even when combined with my bulky frame, looks awesome.

"Nice," Karol says, "But, aren't you forgetting something?" She produces my rainstorm badge from her pocket and pins it below the neck of the suit. "I picked it up before we ran out of the room. I hope you don't mind."

I feel stupid for forgetting it myself. "Nah not at all. Thanks."

Suddenly, the noise of an incoming crowd fills the Remake Center. Karol looks at her watch. "10 minutes away already?" she says. "Ok, Jon, you start heading down the hall, I'll go see if Marrissa's slow stylist is done yet." I nod and briskly walk out of the room.

I can hear the loud cheers, even before I'm halfway down the hall. All of, or at least most of, the Capitol attends the opening parade for the Hunger Games. Thousands upon thousands of people separate themselves along the street of the parade. Along with that, all of the T.V. stations would be present, broadcasting the parade.

_So, if I screw up somehow, everyone and anyone will see it. Great._

Marrissa runs up beside me, dressed in the same costume I am. "Nice get-up," I smirk.

"You too," she replies. I open up the door at the end of the hall.

"Thousands upon thousands" was an understatement. Millions upon millions is better wording for what we see. In front of us are 12 horse-drawn chariots. I can hear, but not see the crowds yet. They must all be waiting around a corner at the end of the road. I glance over to see some other tributes coming out as well. Maybe I can get some pointers, because I'm completely clueless on what to do.

District 1, the home of jewelry for the Capitol, and home of my friends Ashley English and Schuyler Taylor. Ashley is in a blue dress covered with jewels (diamonds, I think) that sparkle in the sunlight. Schuyler, since he obviously can't wear a dress, is in a blue dress shirt and black pants. His tie is also blue, but with diamonds scattered along it. For a jewelry pair, not too bad. Can't go wrong with sparkles, right?

"Nice costumes guys. You look like you could almost be a rich couple." Ashley gives me a look that could burn a hole through me, and I shut up.

Marrissa speaks up for me, "We were visiting all the other districts; you should come."

They agree, and we begin moving towards District 2. It isn't long before I receive a hard punch from Ashley.

"Hey," I said, rubbing my sore arm, "I was kidding."

She smiles. "I know," she says, "I just felt like I owed you a 'friendly gesture'." _Some kind of friendly gesture._

We stop by Tyler (Lapolla) and Marticka next. They are both dressed in army camouflage outfits, with machine guns strapped around their backs. Wait…_machine guns?!_

"H-Hey M-Marticka and Ty-Tyler." I stutter. I've never been too comfortable around guns for some strange reason. I just hope none are supplied in the arena.

"Don't worry scaredy-cat," Marticka teases, "they're not loaded."

I let out a sigh of relief. "We're visiting all of the other districts to see what kind of stylists they got. Come with us, now."

Marticka walks over by me, but Tyler doesn't move. "I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind." he says sharply.

"Sure, I guess." I reply with a shrug.

Once we start moving to District 4, I receive another punch in the arm, but this time from Marticka. "And what was that for?!" I whine, trying to protect my poor arm from any further damage.

"Just because I felt like it." she smirked.

_Should I be used to this by now? Yes. Am I? No. _Keep moving on.

Joseph and Cheyenne are standing there, dressed in… what, fisherman costumes? Lamest costumes I've seen for sure. Not their fault, probably, just their stylists. "Hello Captain Joe Smith." I greet.

A look of disgust comes from Joseph. "It seems you are all going on a field trip?" he notes. "I'll just tag along, if you don't mind." He takes his spot walking behind me.

"Would you like to come?" Ashley asks Cheyenne.

"No," she replies, "I'm fine. I don't know anyone anyways."

We leave Donnelly there by herself while Cronen hits me on the shoulder and says, "So, what's up?"

I yelp in pain, and then bark, "C'mon, really?!"

Joseph takes a couple steps back. "Whoa," he says, "calm down Jonny."

_Jonny_, what a nickname. That annoying name has been following me ever since I knew Joseph, and it still annoys me every time I hear it. I try to get my mind off my aching shoulder long enough to get to District 5.

District 5's specialty is power, and it is usually where some of the better costumes come from. Ethan and the female tribute, Rebecca Accord, are dressed in bright yellow jumpsuits, similar to mine and Marrissa's.

"Hey," Schuyler starts, "nice…costumes?"

Ethan looked down at his outfit and replied, "don't worry; they'll look better once the parade starts." _…Bunch of Copycatters._

"Ethan," I say, "as you can see, all of us have been going around to all the other districts. I expect you'll come?"

"Of course." He walks over next to me. "Wait," he turns to Accord, "Rebecca, you want to come?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'll just go see what all the other districts are doing." She walks off.

I notice Ethan near my injured shoulder and, out of instinct, aim my fist at his face. "I swear," I growl, "if you even touch my arm, I'll knock you 10 feet."

He gives me a weird stare, and then says, "I wasn't planning on touching your arm at all, but okay. I don't know why you'd think I would want to."

I glance and see Ashley, Marticka, and Joseph snickering. "Never mind."

District 6: Tyler Davis and Brooklyn Davis. I feel bad for these two, not because the district they got placed in, but because they got picked at the same time in the same district. I think they're brother and sister, both pretty young too. Though, the last name _Davis_ keeps sticking in my mind for some reason. _Davis, why does that name ring a bell? Unless…_

I turn to Marticka and whisper, "They aren't related to you, right?" No answer. "Right?" Still no answer. "Please tell me I'm right."

She finally opens her mouth long enough to choke out, "No, you're not right. Tyler and Brooklyn are my cousins." _Brother, sister, __and__ cousin? It's worse than I thought._

They were both dressed in…jogging outfits? District 6's main product is transportation, an understandably hard topic to cover without dressing up as a car, or something to that effect. But seriously, jogging? Who jogs anymore to get anywhere? I will just ignore the crappy stylist and move on.

Once they see her, Tyler and Brooklyn instantly run to hug Marticka. "We thought we wouldn't see you again." Brooklyn cried. Marticka didn't say anything back, but the tears trickling down her face said enough.

I know the pain they're going through, I have many cousins, nieces, and nephews that could have been chosen from different districts. These games are hard enough with all of my friends in it, but with my family in it, I would just purposely die first. I wouldn't have the guts to do it.

District 7's tributes, the poor saps, are dressed as trees (no pun intended). I don't know Cameron, and Naomi went to school with me before… you know what, but I never knew her well. We walk past them and on to District 8.

John and May are dressed in a suit and dress that seem to change colors by the way the sun hits them. One moment they would be blue, another they would be green, etc. Interesting. They're so simple, but yet I can't take my eyes off them. Not bad for a clothing district.

"What's up John?" I start.

"Not much, what about you Jon?" he shoots back.

"I'm fine."

Schuyler cuts in. "Okay, "enough of that crummy joke already. We're visiting all the districts, are you coming or not John?"

John walks toward the back of the group. "Sure, why not?"

I notice May standing silently alone. "Ok, how about you May?" I ask. "I know that you don't recognize any of us, but why not?"

She just shrugs. "Fine with me." she says as she walks over next to John.

I only knew Claire and Geoff a few years before the raid. I really don't know the greater part of their personalities, like I do Ethan. Personally, I would hate working all day harvesting grain. I think they might also, but at least they have a good stylist to make like they do. Clair's dress changes colors between different shades of orange, just as Geoff's jumpsuit. "Good to see you guys." I say. "We really need to hurry if we'll make it all the way through the districts before the parade starts, so just say yes you'll follow us."

They give a confused look to each other, then go ahead and start walking with us.

I'm glad I got through that without talking much. I'd never get Geoff to stop talking, let alone understand what he's saying. No offence to Geoff, but he talks way too fast. Half of the time, you have to run his words through your head a second time just to get them straight.

Billy's costume is a…. _what the crap?!_ District 10's main product is cattle, but that doesn't prepare me for what I see. Billy… _I don't even_… Billy is dressed as a cow, black and white spots, cow head hat, utters, everything. Next to him, Zules (or Julie, as I know her) was dressed as a farm girl. I couldn't help myself.

"Hey, farmer Valdez, nice cow. What's its name?" Billy slowly shook his head at me, and I burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, Billy, Julie, I was just interested by your stylists work, that's all."

"Don't be," Julie replied in disgust, "they suck at costumes."

How do I know Julie? Simple, she lived across the street from me.

"Ok, we have one more district to go to on our little road trip. Billy, Julie, you coming?" William and Zules join the party and off we went again.

Mason seemed to get a decent stylist. He ended up dressed in dark blue overalls and a white shirt with red stripes. Look at it this way; at least it's better than a cow costume.

"Hi Mason." He looks in my direction and nods.

"I guess the road trip ends here," I speak to the rest of our group, taking a quick glance toward the District 12 tributes. Braden Smith and Winter Summers are dressed in coal miner outfits.

A voice suddenly booms across the parade grounds. "TRIBUTES, PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES."

"I guess that's our cue to leave. See you guys later." Marrissa and I start running back to the doors where we came out from.

Now, there is a gray chariot with golden lining in front of the port. It's pulled by two black horses. On the back, the symbol of District 3 shines. Next to it is an anxious waiting Karol.

"You two are late, where'd you go?"

I roll my eyes and mumble, "Sightseeing."

She gestures us into the chariot, then begins instruction. "After the parade is over, just go into your rooms. There will be an extra set of clothing there to change into." She starts to leave, but then remembers something. "Oh, and remember to push the button on your wrist sleeve to turn your costume on and off." She runs off.

I push the button and the suit comes back to life. "You ready?" I ask Marrissa.

Her suit lights up. "For what?" she counters.

"Oh, nothing." I reply airily. "Just felt like saying something. Hey look, the chariots are moving."

District 1's chariot slowly starts moving up the street, followed by District 2's, then ours. I suddenly remember Ethan's costume and look behind me. His jumpsuit is now flashing between yellow and black, electrical sparks shoot out from him. _Again, bunch of Copycatters._

As the chariot rounds the corner, I see the full extent of people in the Capitol. There are at least a few billion, trillion maybe, people there, screaming for their favorite districts. T.V. screens above the road show videos of the tributes from hidden cameras. I quickly glance at one of the screens and see Marrissa and I standing epically (_yes, epically_) on the chariot. Suddenly, the pressure of the crowd, knowing that all of the Capitol and districts are watching, hits me like a ton of bricks. My vision starts to fade again and I feel dizzy, almost ready to fall off the platform onto the pavement below.

Marrissa, luckily, sees me starting to tip over and steadies me. "Are you ok?" she whispers. "You looked like you were about to pass out, just like at the reaping."

I regain my footing, and then reply, "I'll make it through the end of the parade." I'm not one to pass out on a random basis. I'm just really uncomfortable around huge amounts of people, even worse when those people are counting on me for some reason. I believe it's called anthropophobia, or something like that. I hope it doesn't interfere with anything else I have to do in the Capitol.

All of the chariots, at the end of their little run, line up in a semi-circle around a large mansion. A young man who addresses himself as President Cornelius Snow steps out on a platform coming out directly from the building. He starts saying a bunch of crap that I don't listen to, probably about the Hunger Games. Who listens to it anyways? He says the same stuff every year, same speech and lecture. After 2 years of hearing it, I should have it memorized by now.

The carriages continue around a loop back to the Training Center. Turns out that the whole thing is actually one big circle. Who knew?

To summarize the rest of the day, the tributes went back to their rooms, changed into different clothing that "magically" appeared on the bed. _How they get perfect sizes for each tribute, I don't want to know. _And, the rest of the day was filled with laziness once again._ When will the Capitol have us actually start training?_

After lunch, talking, dinner, more talking, instructions from mentors about being ready to get up early tomorrow, and more of nothingness. Everyone finally went to bed. I have no comments on how everything went today because I will not put myself ahead of my friends as far as costume. I will admit that some of them were cheesy (*coughcowsuitcough*), but I'm not an official spectator, now am I?

My thoughts as far as how I'm going to deal with the 3rd annual Hunger Games? Still haven't changed. Is there really anything to think, though? I know that I will be put in an arena with 23 other people, most of them who I know. I don't think we will go all out against each other, or at least most of us won't. I have no idea what we _will_ decide to do, but that's a few weeks from now.

Maybe by that time I can get control of my fear of being depended on? Hopefully. If I don't, then I don't have a chance of surviving.

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**I am trying to move these chapters from a document in Microsoft Word... It gives me the extra job of fixing it when I "Copy-N-Paste" it from there to here, online. I'll post each new chapter as soon as I finish re-editing it.**


	5. Chapter 3: Training

**Chapter 3 transferred from Word. Enjoy... if you wish. :)**

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If you are a person who values every moment of sleep they can get, such as me, you don't like to be woken up so suddenly, especially not by a pitcher of water to the face. Yes, a _pitcher_ of water. I would still like to get back at the kid who had the job of waking all of the tributes. Seriously, if anything, a cup would've been enough. There's a big difference between just a splash of water, and being drenched and shivering from it. At least the Capitol was nice enough to leave a dry pair of clothes for me **away** from the aim of the water boy.

The clothes consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt and grey sweats. Not my choice of clothing, mind you, but I suppose it works. Downstairs, I meet up with my best friend and ask him, "How was your shower this morning?"

Ethan just shook his head in frustration. "I'll take that you had just as bad as an experience as I did." _At least I wasn't the only one._

One meal of bacon and eggs later, made by impressive cooks, Marrissa and I were pulled aside by our Capitol mentor.

"This next month is crucial for you two." she said. "You are scheduled to train the whole time. There are several sections in which to do so: hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, archery, even wilderness survival. It really doesn't matter which either of you go for. If you want to have any chance at all in surviving the Games, you need to train every chance you get. Any questions?"

_Do I sense a hint of doubt in mine and Marrissa's abilities?_ She doesn't care who survives or who lives. She just wants her pay. The Capitol mentors hate us just as much as we do them. After a long pause, I finally spit out, "No sir, we're just fine."

She glares at me and stomps off, mumbling something about "Stupid brats."

The Training Room is exactly like that two-bit mentor said. Around the walls of the room are different training areas, each of them focused on a different skill. The skills aren't much different than those I've learned from a long time ago, minus the weapons.

"Do you think it was a good idea to get our mentor mad at us?" Marrissa asks me warily as we walk into the room. "She is supposed to help us, remember?"

"I don't think it matters," I reply, "We don't need one more person sitting around, telling us what to do." Maybe it was a bad idea, but it still got that nag off our backs. The mentor does no good if he or she doesn't care about the tribute anyways.

I start training in archery, but I quickly ditch it and move on… At least I can say I hit the target. Maybe not the target set up for me to aim at, but still a target. I choose sword fighting next. I'm great at the one-on-one matches with other tributes. Poor Schuyler, Mason, and Ethan get taken down, and I think that I might have a chance with swords until Marticka shows up. She practiced with blades in District 2, being that District 2's product is weapons. After getting beaten up, I walk to another station, embarrassed.

Ashley happened to walk past me and said, "You gotten beaten by a girl. You mad bro?" That didn't help any.

I seem to have good skills in trap setting, hand-to-hand combat, insect and plant knowledge, and other things like that. I guess knowledgeable things might help me in the arena, but they do me no good if I need to actually fight someone. I don't go to any other weapons for the rest of the day; I don't want to be beaten by anyone else. I finish out the day learning about different types of knots.

Simplifying the next month, this is basically how my training went. I would come in, try to do some weaponry, and then do things like knot tying and poisonous food knowledge. Eventually, I get to the point where I am almost as good as Marticka with swords. As for archery, I can now almost always hit somewhere in the center of the target. I am the best tribute in hand combat skills, surprisingly.

Funny thing, every morning the Capitol wake-up crew tried the water approach. Finally, about halfway through the month, some of us were smart enough to hang a piece of cloth over our beds before we went to sleep. The bad thing is, once we did that, the kids started bringing hot sauce and, after lifting the cloth up, would dump it in on our faces instead. Have you ever had hot sauce in your eye before? You don't want to; it burns like heck. In the end, I just took off the cloth and dealt with the cold pitcher of water every morning.

My friends get irritating at times, but I can usually put up with it. By now, I'm used to it. The thing that keeps bugging me, though, is that Tyler, my friend, has some sort of dark look in his eye whenever I see him. He looks as if he's angry at someone, but whom?

Just to give an idea of how annoying my friends can be, let me relay the following story:

I was just going through my regular routine of survival classes, like any other day, and I happened to walk past Billy and Joseph. They were huddled together laughing about random things. What caught my attention is that every once in a while one of them would look up at me, and then go back to laughing. I silently strode over next to them and listened for a bit. Once I heard the name Braunté, I cut right in.

"Hey guys," I say abruptly, "what'cha talking about?"

Joseph looks up in the air innocently. "Oh, nothing." he says. "Just talking about past experiences."

I glare at him. "Really? Try again. What were you talking about?"

Billy answers this time. "Remember back in 9th grade?" I slowly nod my head. "Remember who you had a crush on?" he continues with a smirk.

I know where this is going already. "Joseph, listen to me good, because I will only say this once more. I _do not_ have a crush on Braunté Anderson. I am not boyfriend and girlfriend with her. I do not have any kind of relationship with her whatsoever. Do I make myself clear?"

Braunté Anderson went to elementary, junior high, and high school with me. Yes, that does mean I've known her ever since Kindergarten. I'll admit that I did have a crush on her for most of my Elementary school life. I'll also admit that I did have a crush on her throughout the time of the Capitol bombing. My greatest mistake that I've ever made in my life is telling Joseph and Billy about my personal life. Once I revealed this information, I've gotten teased, embarrassed, and even black mailed by it. They seem to think that me having a crush on someone means something major, when it doesn't. I just wish they'd stop messing with my life.

"Yeah," Joseph starts off again, "but I heard that she got placed in the same district as you." I nod. "How are you dealing with that, the girl of your dreams in the same city?"

_Did he listen to anything that I just said?_ I look towards the ground in frustration. "I said that I have no relationship with her. I'm leaving it at that, thank you."

I try to walk away, but Billy deliberately stood in front of me. "Why are you hiding something then?" he said.

"I'm not hiding anything, now if you'd excuse me."

Billy still wouldn't let me pass. "If you're not hiding anything," he retorted, "then answer the question."

I looked him directly in the eye. "Ok then, fine. Braunté is in fact in my district. I don't know how, but she got placed there." I turn to face Joseph and continue. "She and I still go to the same school. We have become friends somewhat, but that's it. _Friends_ and only _friends._ Happy now?"

"Oh," Joseph said, "so you are friends with her. She's a girl, and if she's your friend, that means she's your girlfriend."

_Oh for the love of…_ "Smart alleck. You know that's not what I mean."

He just shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, you said it, not me. I won't bug you on how far your relationship is along, that's your own business."

I finally give him a glare so powerful that he takes a step backwards. "Look Joseph, you can think whatever the heck you want, I really don't care either way. But keep it to yourself. You and cowboy over here," an irritated look from Billy, "messed up part of my school life because of this rumor. I don't want it to happen here too. If I hear anymore of this crap, I swear I'll grind you into the ground."

I shove Billy away and start to stride away, thinking the fight's over, until I hear Joseph sing "Jon and Braunté sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

I feel my face turn red, but I ignore it and glare once again at him. "You want to run that by me again?" I say. "Go ahead, say one more thing about me and Braunté, I dare you."

He just smiled cutely.

"That's what I thought."

I turned and again started walking toward another station. Just before I was out of ear range, though, Joseph coughed out, "Braunté". _Bad move, buddy._

In a blink of an eye, I'm back over and giving Joseph a well deserved bash in the face. He falls to the ground and I jump on top of him, thrashing my arms into any part of him that I can. It takes a few seconds for Ethan, Schuyler, and John to notice the fight and run over to pull me from him. When they do, I try to struggle away from them.

"Let me go!" I growl. They keep a grip on my arms while Claire, Billy, and Geoff help Joseph back to his feet.

Joseph gives that annoying smile again. "Whoa," he said, "he's real touchy on his girlfriends."

That infuriates me even more, and I try to pull away even harder. Ashley lays a hand on my shoulder and says, "Just leave him be, Jon. He's not worth the trouble."

Marrissa and Marticka walk up next to her. "Save your strength and anger for the arena." Marrissa insists. "That's where you'll really need it."

I take a deep breath and calm back down. Ethan and Schuyler release me and we all walk away from Joseph. I plug my ears as to not hear any irritating words he tries to say. I notice a Peacekeeper guard standing by the door and give him a questioning look. He shrugs and looks on. Apparently he enjoyed the fight because he didn't make any notion to stop it. Fine with me; more time I had to beat the living crap out of Cronen.

. . . . .

Other than that minor problem, the rest of the month went as normal. I'm still worried for Tyler, but there's probably nothing I can do for him. He never used to be this depressed before the Capitol attack. I just can't help asking myself what happened. I suppose it doesn't involve me, so I shouldn't let it bother me. I will instead try to focus for tonight.

Tonight will determine who has a chance of surviving the Games, and who won't even last a day…

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**Thank you for reading. Please give me feedback, if you have the time, and let me know how I'm doing, direction wise.**


	6. Chapter 4: Test Scores

**When I look at the rest of the chapters that are left, this is actually a pretty short story, being that I condenced the whole training proccess into one, two sentences. Not that a long, drawn out story is good... or that a short, stupid one is good, either... ****_bah._**

**And so, here is Chapter 4 of this randomly made Hunger Games. I would try to make it more sensible, but I ****_am_**** running off the personalities of my friends, and... that is self-explanitory...**

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Ok, maybe I exaggerated that last part about "who has a chance of surviving". _It at least sounded dramatic, right?_

Anyways, tonight each tribute will be called in to a private training session. The only people in the room will be the tribute and a few Gamemakers (people who make the Hunger Games every year). The tribute is to show off some of his or her skills to the Gamemakers, who then give the tribute a score out of 12 based on how well they did. 12 is usually for those who should be feared, which is why not one tribute has gotten it yet, and 1 is for those puny wimp fighters. They really don't matter this year because all of us know each other's skills anyways. I guess it's still fun seeing how high you can rank.

All of us gather on the bottom floor to wait for our names to be called. District 1 is first, so the first one who gets called is Ashley. When she passes me, I say, "Don't mess up."

"You know me." She replies to me while walking backwards. After she trips on someone's old pile of books, sending them everywhere, she runs into the elevator.

Marticka and Marrissa come to sit by me for a while when Schuyler gets called up. It takes quite a while before Marticka finally gets called. She gets up and suddenly gives me a questioning look. "I've actually run out of smart alleck comments." I note with a shrug. "Good luck, I guess?" Marticka wordlessly leaves for the elevator.

Marrissa and I were there, waiting for Tyler to finish his performance. "So," starts Marrissa, "have you decided what kind of team you want to form?"

There hasn't been much talk about teams ever since a month ago. Back then, I didn't have to worry about it. Now, I'll have to decide in a few days. "No, I have no clue." I respond. "I want to be with the right people, but I don't want to decide who I want to go against or not. I wish we could all form one big team, but that would be useless, considering how there's only a few people who wouldn't be on it. I just wish that we didn't have to kill anyone, point blank."

"I'm sure that most of us want to do that." she says. "It's not like we have a choice, though. You'd better choose quickly, though; you only have a couple days left." Her name booms over the loud speaker. "See you in a bit." She goes to the elevator.

She did make a point of choosing teams, if any, quickly. I haven't heard of anyone else forming a team of any kind, but I'm sure that they've been thinking about it. Unlike me, they haven't known everyone through their lives. I met Marticka, Billy, Claire, and Geoff in Jr. High, while I've known Mason, Tyler, Ashley, Schuyler, John, and especially Ethan since elementary. I don't know Marticka's cousins that well, but who has the heart to kill a little kid, let alone two?

I almost miss my name when it gets announced. In the elevator, I start wondering about everyone else has done so far. I obviously have to do something at an attempt to show everyone else up. _Any "knowledge of mini-sized" bug skills will bore easily, and I don't know of any good way to demonstrate strength._ It doesn't matter really what I do, I just need to do _something._

As expected, there is no one else in the room except for three Gamemakers. All of the stations are set up just as normal, waiting to be used. One of the Gamemakers stands and says, "You have exactly three minutes to set up and perform your skills. Your time begins once you pick up an item." _Only three minutes to set up? Tough crowd._

I run to the sword station and grab six dummies. I set one on one side of the room, a few feet away from the Gamemakers, and another directly across from it on the other side. I look straight up and see a metal beam running across the room. Using some walls and poles from the other stations, I manage to climb up and get a dummy standing up there (imagine what it must look like, a "bulky" kid trying to shinny up a pole). I finally run to get a sword and stand right in front of the Gamemakers, placing the remaining three dummies around me in a triangle-like formation. I hold the sword directly in front of me, focusing, hoping that I can actually pull off this move.

"Two minutes are up," a Gamemaker states, "you'd better hurry Chantry." I nod and take a deep breath.

"Wait," another one interrupts, "you aren't going to do what I think you are, are you?" I smile and look away. _It's show time._

I spin in a complete circle while holding the end of the sword out, slicing all of the dummies around me in half. Then, I take careful aim and forcefully throw the sword up at the dummy top like a boomerang. To my relief, after making contact, the sword circles toward the ground and the next dummy. _Yes, it's working! _I sword slices figure and, after rebounding off the ground, starts to circle back toward the dummy near the Gamemakers. The blade nails the last form with deadly accuracy. The problem is the blade didn't stop after that. It headed straight for an official.

If not for his good reaction skills, he'd be without a head. Seriously, he ducked right before the blade stuck in the wall where his head was. I couldn't help but smirk at the terrified look on the man's face. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't planned. But heck, it was still funny.

"Crap!" I choked through laughs. "Are you ok?"

The man quickly got his bearings back and said, "Y-yes, t-thank y-you." He glanced nervously at his watch. "Y-your time is up Mr. C-chantry. You m-may go now." _Poor guy. He just looked death in the face, and I'm laughing at him._

When I got back down, the group made up of Ashley, Marrissa, and Marticka was upon me. "So what'd you do?" I got asked as soon as the doors opened on the elevator.

"I'd prefer not say." I say shamefully.

"C'mon, tell us!" Ashley urges. "We're all friends!"

"Yeah," Marrissa added, "we won't stop bothering you until you tell us anyways."

"Well," I continue casually, "I _did _almost kill a man. I wonder what kind of points I'll get for that."

They went silent.

"What? The guy got out of the way in time. He just got a little shock, that's all." They seemed dumbfounded while I slowly walked away to the nearest bench to catch my first real breath after leaving the Training Room.

18 tributes later, the scores lit up brightly on a monitor near the elevator. Ashley got a 9. Schuyler ended up with a 2. "Stupid rubber targets. The arrows just _had _to bounce…" he mumbled as he left the crowd. I won't ask.

Tyler Lapolla and Marticka both got off with 11's. Amazing work, I must say. Tyler probably did something with guns, Marticka with swords. I'm almost embarrassed to wait for my score.

Marrissa got off with a nice 10. I thought I saw her practicing in archery a lot. Apparently she had better luck than Schuyler. The name of Jonathan Chantry pops up on the screen with a… 11 next to it?! Maybe attacking the Gamemakers is the way to score high in these contests.

"Huh," I say to no one in particular, "not bad for misaiming a sword."

Ashley, who had happened to be standing right next to me, grew wide eyed. "What was that about 'misaiming a sword' and 'almost killing a man'?!" she asked alarmingly.

I shrugged. "Oh, just threw a sword that circled around and almost beheaded a Gamemaker. Nothing much, really."

She looked in awe. "Jon, I will never understand some of the moves you make."

"Hey, I was kidding! It was an accident!"

She shook her head, laughing a bit. "I hope so."

Joseph, poor Joseph, got stuck with a 5. Not that I expected him to get a high score, if that sounds mean enough, but he deserves it. Ethan got a 9. I wonder for what. I didn't know he was good with any weapons; he never trained with any in the last month. I wonder what he did for that high of a score.

Tyler and Brooklyn Davis both got…am I seeing this right?! They both got 12's. Weaponry and fighting runs in the family. Amazing, simply amazing…

John got an 8 and May got a 9. Good for clothing manufacturers. Geoff and Claire got 10's. I personally don't see Claire as a fighting type, so she must have awed the judges with some kind of epic rope tying or something. Julie… excuse me, _Zules_ got off with a 7. Not bad; she's not much of a fighter either.

Billy got a…1. How's that possible again? I walked over to him, and before I could say anything, he started ranting, "Yeah, I know, I screwed up. There was just one knot that I couldn't exactly learn, so I asked one of the Gamemakers to help me."

_Facepalm. _"Billy, you are supposed to perform _for _them, not _with _them! Since, you could've just asked one of us for help."

He tilted his head. "I know, but I couldn't do much more than knots and archery anyways. I forgot every time about asking you guys." _Ugh, Billy, you should've done archery then!_

Mason got off with a nice 11, sword fighting probably. And, that ends all who I care about, so I leave, hoping to get a nice spot in line for dinner. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, and I end up getting crammed in the elevator anyways.

Dinner was ok; everyone was constantly talking to the other about what they did. Normally, districts don't sit together, but what the heck. We've known one another long enough; we aren't complete strangers to each other. We'll only know one another for two more days anyways, so what's the point of splitting up?

I would've been fine with dinner that night, but one thing _had_ to happen. That one thing was so irritating to me; it made me go back to certain times of my 9th grade year. I wish I could've stopped it, but it was already too late, as the damage was done.

Joseph stood up on the table seat and yelled, "JONATHAN LIKES BRAUNTÉ!"

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**_GASP! Dramatic pause!_**** Yeah, whatever...**

**Thanks for reading! I always enjoy it when my random chapters aren't ignored. :P**


	7. Chapter 5: Backstory

**Chapter 5 completed.**

**Enjoy!**

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_Why that little, good for nothing, runt! _If there weren't more guards than at the Training Room, I would've beaten the living snot out of him. I got up, threw the rest of my food in the trash, and headed for the elevator. I push the number 4 on the button panel. _Wait, I'll need supplies first._ I go back down to the main floor.

That's the last straw for me, personally. I've given him enough patience throughout the years, especially recently, but I'm finished. It's time for me to start fighting back. I may not be able to get the pure embarrassment as he does, but I have other ways of getting back at people.

. . . . .

Joseph quietly stepped out of the elevator on district floor 2. He made sure that Marticka wasn't lurking around, and then ran quickly to Tyler's room. Tyler was already waiting for him at the doorway.

"Is there anyone following you?" he asked calmly. Joseph shook his head they both went into the room.

"How are you doing on your assignment, Joseph?" Tyler said after quietly shutting the door.

"Well," Joseph started, "if you mean my job of keeping Jon focused on me, I guess I'm doing fine. I've never tried to 'distract' someone for long periods of time before." He paused for a moment, then continued. "How again is this supposed to help limit other tributes?"

Tyler took a deep breath. "With you keeping Jon's mind directly on you all the time, he can't manage everything. With his mind on you during the Games, he will be focusing less on me. He'll be too busy fighting with you that he won't notice me killing the rest of his friends. Soon enough, he'll have no one else to fight with, and will be easier to take down."

Joseph nodded slowly. "I see. One more thing. You mentioned something about revenge to all of them, what do you mean?"

Tyler regained the dark look in his eye that had been gone ever since the humiliation back at dinner. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you."

"Back when the Capitol was attacking the United States, Utah particularly, all us as friends tried to get back together. For some of us, we hadn't seen each other in a while, but we still knew where everyone lived. The 7 of us, Jonathan, Ethan, Mason, Schuyler, Ashley, John, and me, gathered up by the Rocky Mountains. We had planned to try to outrun the attacking forces of the Capitol in the forests of the mountains. We did quite well, considering. We lasted a whole 2 days in the wilderness by ourselves. I thought we could make it.

"On the third day, however, some Capitol men found our campsite and chased after us. We, being younger, were able to keep a good lead on them, but we still tired quickly. I forgot to watch where I was going and I tripped on a fallen tree. My foot caught between the huge log and a rock. I couldn't pull it out, no matter how hard I tried. I started to call for help from my allies, or who I _thought_ were allies, but the only thing they did was look over their shoulders for a split second, then continue running faster. One of the men captured me while the other went out for the rest of the group.

"I was one of the lucky ones; I didn't get tested with a DNA mutation, or injected with a test disease that might kill me. I was still beat and tortured for information, though. I kept trying to tell them I knew nothing, but they wouldn't believe me. Soon enough, they locked me up in a cell until the 12 districts were formed. I got sent to District 2 with Marticka, another one of Jon's friends. I don't feel any hate toward her. She didn't betray me."

Josep solemnly nodded. "So that's what happened? I can't imagine Jon ditching you like that."

"Well," Tyler replied, "he did. And I need to get my revenge for the torture they put me through." He stops for a minute, and then adds, "Just make sure you do your job. You keep Jonathan distracted while I take out his friends. Then, maybe you or I will have a chance to win and go back home."

Joseph got up and left out the door. _It didn't sound like it was really Jon's fault, _he thought. _If he would've gone back, he would've just been captured and tortured with Tyler._ It didn't matter either way. If Joseph was going to win these Games, he needed to follow through with this plan. He got on the elevator up to his floor.

. . . . .

_Good, the trap is about done._ I slowly closed the door of Joseph's room. I suddenly hear a footstep behind me and almost jump off my ladder. It's only Marrissa. "What are you doing?" she asked.

I hopped off the ladder and replied, "Other than getting scared to death, I'm just getting a little payback. If you could help me take down this ladder before Joseph happens to come up, I'd appreciate it."

As we start walking toward the elevator with the ladder, I hear the elevator coming up. "Crap," I inhale sharply, "that's got to be him. Here, let's just lean the ladder against the wall over here. No one will know what it's there for anyways."

. . . . .

Joseph stepped off the elevator, only to find Jonathan and Marrissa waiting for him.

"Hey Joseph," Jon started, "look, I'm _really _sorry about trying to beat the life out of you yesterday. I wasn't thinking about how long we've known each other and how well our friendship has lasted."

Marrissa looked like she was going to burst out laughing, but Joseph ignored that.

"Forgive me?" Jon asked.

That got Joseph confused. "Uhh, yeah, sure." he replied. It wasn't like Jon to be sorry for beating up on someone, especially after what Joseph had done right before that. _Maybe Jon has finally had a change of personality._ Joseph thought. _Too bad that doesn't change the fact that we'll be double-crossing him in a few days._

Joseph walked back to his room calmly while the District 3 tributes got in the elevator. _Maybe Jon will just forget this one and move on. _When he opened the door, his thoughts changed as a bucket fell over onto his head. He stood there in anger as the thick molasses dripped down his face.

. . . . .

As soon as the elevator door closed, I dropped on the floor, laughing. Marrissa stood above me, confused. "I don't know what happened," she said, "and I probably don't want to, either."

"Not like I did anything wrong," I say, getting off the ground, "just a little fun payback, that's all." I wonder if I'll get any reaction from Joseph by tomorrow. I hope not, this whole fight is really getting annoying.

We stop outside her door. "So," she starts, "have you decided what people you want to go with in the Games?"

_Great, that question again_. "No," I reply, "and not hearing about anyone else making teams doesn't help. I honestly don't know what I'll do."

As she opens her door, she states, "Well, I'd figure out pretty quick. Tomorrow is your last day to think about it. Night, Jon."

"Goodnight Marrissa." I bid before I walk back to my abode.

I end up sitting on my bed, looking at my tribute token. The only thing this little blue and grey badge reminds me of is how soon my friends will be broken apart once again. I have no idea what to feel, or how to feel about what will happen in two days. There's nothing that I can do to stop it, which is irritating. All of us have trained as individuals, and will fight the same way during the Games. It's funny, at middle school, I used to always dream what would happen if all of my friends had to fight against each other for some odd reason. I never actually wanted to find out.

As far as group wise, as much as it pains me, I have made a choice. I'm afraid that I will need to stay with those who I know I can trust, which means everyone that I've known the longest. This will include Ethan, Mason, Ashley, Schuyler, Tyler, and John. I really don't want to leave Billy, Marticka, or anyone else alone, but I really don't have a choice at this point. I am just choosing who I think I can trust the most. I wish I could get Marticka to join with us, but I'm not sure how that will work out. She probably has several other people she'd have over me anyways.

Tomorrow night will be filled with interviews, and the next day, the 3rd Annual Hunger Games. I don't know what I will do, but I'll need something quick. I don't feel like stressing my mind over this now, so I'll just deal with it later. The next and only thing I should be worrying about is the interviews to take place. Hopefully I can straighten things out soon, or else I'll be in a huge hole.

* * *

**Only one or two more chapters until the action starts!... Yes, as doubtable as it might seem, there is action in this story. You just have to wait eight chapters for it. :p**


	8. Chapter 6: Interview Night

_**The story keeps on runnin', runnin', runnin'... **_**Here is chapter 6. Enjoy, if you will.**

* * *

I wake up from my daily gallon of water. I still wish I could get back at that kid somehow, but there's really nothing else I can do.

Going to the bathroom to take an actual shower, something strange happens. About halfway through, I notice that the water has turned a reddish color. I start to freak out; the water looked heavily bloodstained. That is, until I tasted it. _Kool Aid?_ I shut the water off and unscrew the top off of the shower head just to find that a packet of the mixing drink had been dumped inside it.

_Joseph._

He'd break into my room just to set up something to get back at me? I was settling the score, but now he wants to start a prank war the day before we leave? Not in my best interest. There's still one more night to go. We'll see what happens before then.

I get dressed and hurry down to the main floor. As if on cue, the devil himself walks up to me and snickers, "Hey Jon, your skin is looking kind of reddish today, are you feeling fine?"

I stare him down as I reply, "Watch yourself, kid."

He continues to walk away laughing. The best thing to do at this point would be to ignore him. I have more important things to worry about than a snotty little kid.

Today, from what I have gotten from Karol and my fellow tributes, is the interview night that comes right before the start of the Games. Each tribute is interviewed in front of a Capitol audience and anyone else who cares to turn on their T.V. during the broadcast. The interviewer might ask any type of question be prepared. Other than that, the rest of the day is mostly a free one. I don't feel like training, so I wander around the building with Ethan and Mason.

"Hey," Mason starts, "this is kind of like the old days. Back when we used to walk home from school together."

"But it's not, now is it?" I reply harshly, a little more than I meant to.

Ethan catches up to my fast stride. I hadn't realized that I had picked up the pace. "Are you okay Jon? You don't seem like yourself."

I slow down to let Mason get up to us. "Am I supposed to?" I ask. "Tomorrow and the days after it I have to hunt and kill everyone I care about, excluding my parents, just to stay alive. Not to mention that if I do survive, my life is ruined anyways. Do you expect me to be happy, apart from my usual depressed move? I question myself how you two aren't feeling the same way."

Ethan tries to meet my gaze, but I won't let him. "Look, we realize that this is a tough time for our group. Heck, there hasn't been any worse time. But remember, there's nothing that we can do to stop it. Wouldn't it be best to live out the rest of our time in a happier matter? This is the last few moments we'll be together like this."

I stop completely.

"Ethan, Mason, I'm sorry for my attitude, but this really isn't the time for my so called 'bright mood' to show. I probably have less than a week to live and you still want me to be happy for these last days? I realize what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it. You two have helped me ever since elementary school. When everyone else failed for me, even the rest of my friends, I could always count on you two.

"Tomorrow morning we will all be put in the same arena that is currently unknown to us. We will only have one goal: survival. I realize that there is no way to change our current fate, and it annoys me still. Please, I just ask of one thing: don't try to cheer me up. I have been depressed ever since I entered the 5th grade, and at this time it's at its worst. I'm not trying to tell a sob story, I don't want you to waste your time."

They stay quiet for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

"What happened to your skin?" Karol asks when I walk into the dressing room. "It looks redder than it did before."

I looked down, wanting to hide from everyone completely, especially her. "Don't mention it, it's a long story."

She shrugs. "It doesn't matter much, I was just wondering. Now, about your clothing for tonight…" A metallic blue tie, light blue dress shirt, and black dress pants lie on the bed. I quickly dress into them.

A couple of minutes of silence pass before Karol senses something wrong. "Are you okay? Did I mess up on the suit?"

_Great, now people are blaming my overall mood upon themselves._ "No no, it's a great outfit!" I cover up. "I've just been having some problems lately, that's all. It's no big deal."

She reaches back to my nightstand and grabs my district token. "If you say so…" I take it and pin it to my tie. "Good luck out there, Jon." She adds, and then walks out of the room.

_I'll need it… just like always._

* * *

Ashley is first up. I quietly sit in my seat as I watch her hurry up to the stage. All of the tributes end up sitting together. All except for Joseph, who has placed himself a couple rows away from me. Just as the training scores did, the interviewer calls each tribute up in order of District number, and ladies first in each district. Poor Ashley, she's had the unlucky pick of being a girl tribute from District 1. She's been first up in every event.

"Ashley English," the interviewer, a man in a suit that changed colors when light hit it in different ways, clarifies, "that is your name, correct?" Ashley nods slowly. "Good, let's get on with the questions! As always, they are ones that the viewers from the Capitol send in. Be ready to answer anything, Ashley." He pulls out a card from his pocket. "Firstly, Ashley, how do you feel about being in these Hunger Games? Not just the Games itself, but with the people you know?"

Ashley slumps down in her chair a bit. "At first, I didn't know. I had no idea my friends would get picked. When Schuyler got called, I did freak out, but when I learned who was coming from all the other districts…" her voice trails off.

"Don't feel bad about letting your emotions flow here," the interviewer entices, throwing on that plastic smile, "no one here will think any different of you."

_Yeah, sure._ I think to myself. _Of course they won't, they're just people tuned into a game show, what do they care?_

"Moving on," he continues, "you do have a lot of boys in your little friend group, don't you?"

"Umm… yes?" Ashley replies suspiciously.

"I see, well, there are rumors going around that you have some kind of relationship with one of them. Is this true?" Even from where I'm sitting, I can see Ashley's cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Well… I… I guess I do like one of them…"

The interviewer probes some more. "Can you give us the name of the guy?" he asks.

"No." Ashley replies sharply. _Case closed._

"Well, okay then." the man says, looking at his watch. "Wow, look at how the time goes by. One more question. Girls seem to have the lower hand in these games, what about you?"

Ashley's eyes narrow. "I will only fight when I need to. I want to let others destroy themselves first, then I'll come into play when I need to." A buzzer goes off and Ashley instantly gets off the stage, leaving the interviewer confused.

"Nice performance with that last answer." I whisper to her as she takes a seat behind me.

She smiles. "Thanks, I thought it was pretty convincing."

Schuyler's interview comes and goes, and next is Marticka. "Well, Ms. Davis, from what I've heard, two tributes, both from the same district even, are two of your cousins! Is this true?"

"Yes." Marticka confirms.

"Wow," the interviewer exclaims, "I bet that's tough getting through. What's your plans to deal with this come time of the actual fighting?"

Marticka shifts in her seat as she replies, "I have none."

He's blown back. "No plans?! That's very unusual, Marticka! Wouldn't it be better to be prepared before hand?"

"Plans are useless," Marticka says dully, "if you don't know what you're up against. What's the point of making plans if I don't even know what environment I have to fight in? The best thing to do in this type of war is wing it and hope it turns out for the better."

_Tributes: 2, Capitol: 0_

The interviewer is wide-eyed. "Well," he says, "I must say I've never heard that kind of answer before. Good luck with that, Ms. Davis. Next question… I hear that you're pretty good with a sword, is that true?" She nods. Interviewer man continues. "It's always good to be familiar with a weapon, even better with one as common as that one. Now I'll ask you the same question I did Ashley, how do you feel about being matched up with half of your opponents being strong kids?"

Marticka simply shrugs. "So what? Don't judge a book by its cover. Women may be said to have the lower hand in combat, but sometimes cleverness can beat strength."

"I see," he says, "that is very good information for anyone." The buzzer sounds. "Thank you Marticka, you may go sit down now."

Marticka is really good with keeping her emotions bottled up, but even she can't sit down before silently crying in the seats in front of me."

Tyler gets interviewed, then it's on to Marrissa. The sad thing is that there have been no impressive male interviews yet; Schuyler and Tyler have failed miserably. My friends, or at least the guy ones, aren't good talkers.

"So, Marrissa," the interviewer starts off, "it seems I have some interesting questions lined up for you. I hope you're ready." I can tell Marrissa's stress level went up another notch. "First one, did you and Jon know each other before the reaping?"

She thinks for a minute, then replies, "Not really. I mean, we've seen each other in school, but we weren't friends." This is true. I knew her as a name around the halls, but I had never really talked face-to-face with her before a month ago.

The guy's expression suddenly lightens. "Oh, so you don't mind killing him in the Games?"

She shrinks down into her chair a bit. "I didn't say that."

He tilts his head slightly. "So, you _don't_ want to face him? If you aren't friends with him, what does it matter?" Marrissa begins to blush slightly. "I see, so you weren't friends before, but you are now. Good ones, it seems." She opens her mouth to reject, but the interviewer cuts her off again. I personally wish he'd shut up.

"No, I don't need to know any more. Next question: from what I see, the only person you knew before your reaping was Marticka. So you don't want to hurt her, or Jonathan, what about the others?"

Marrissa gets to get something in this time. "Well, I don't know, really. I wish I didn't have to hurt any of them." she responds shyly.

He shakes his head, disapproving her comment. "Marrissa, friendliness won't get you anywhere in the arena. Everyone won't think the same way you do now. Be prepared for anything, because I'm sure someone's going to go looking for you sooner or later." The buzzer rings and Marrissa hurries back to her seat, cutting not wanting to hear him out. Next up is the male tribute from District 3, Jonathan Chantry.

_Here goes nothing._

I get up from my seat and walk slowly up to the stage. I swear I can feel every eye in the room on me. "Well, Mr. Chantry," the interviewer says at last as I take a seat, "I've been looking forward to interviewing you. We have some interesting facts to go off of." _Not only do these people try to embarrass you in front of millions of people, they're also stalkers._ "From what we can get, it looks like you are the center of the friend groups we have here. Before the reapings, Schuyler, Tyler, Ashley, and John had no idea of your other friends, Billy, Geoff, Claire, Marticka, and Marrissa. Yet, you knew all of them already. Ethan, Mason, and Joseph knew some from their Jr. High days, but they had no clue of Marrissa."

I feel myself flinch every time he mentions the name Marrissa. He seems to have the idea that her and I are in a relationship. _Let him think whatever he wants; it would be useless trying to argue it._

"Basically, that means you knew about half of them personally before they were even picked. I really feel for you; you are facing most of the people you know. How are you going to handle it?"

_I honestly don't know, I'm still trying to figure that out myself_! I want to scream. I don't know why my eyes suddenly start leaking, but I manage to cough out, "I'm just going to wait and let it play out."

"Ok, I get it. You basically have the same strategy as Marticka. Usually I would try to dig further, but I see I have hit a sensitive spot, so I'll try to change the subject." _Maybe this Capitol worker actually does have a heart._

"I see you got an 11 for a training score," the interview continues, "that's pretty good, especially for someone from District 3. What weapon are you good with?"

That's a tough question. I really don't have a certain weapon. I did do that amazing shot with the sword, but other than that, I don't have anything. "Actually, sir, I don't have a certain weapon."

He's astonished, yet again. "Really? You got an 11/12 score! And you don't even have a main weapon? That's pretty impressive."

Ok, so maybe I'm better with a sword than anything else. But I just combined sword skills with a perfectly aimed throw, in which I calculated first.

"What did you do then?" the interviewer asks.

_What_ do _I say?_ "_I threw the sword and almost cut off the head of a Gamemaker"?_ "I'd prefer not to mention, if you don't mind." I reply bluntly.

He nods and says, "I see, don't want anyone to know your secrets, do you? I get it. I have one last question for you this evening." the interviewer proceeds. "This one, surprisingly, was sent in many times. Remember how I said get ready a long time ago? I hope you are."

_Uh-oh. Here it comes._

He takes a deep breath, then reads, "Many of the viewers, from the Capitol and some of the districts, wish to know if you do have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with a girl in your district named Braunté. Do you?"

My heart momentarily stops beating. _How'd they get track of that!?_ I look over to the other tributes for support and see Joseph snickering behind a seat. _Yeah, he's probably enjoying this._ Heat floods through my cheeks again as a look to the ground, searching for something to say. _Braunté is probably watching now, just as embarrassed as I am. What do I say? _

My vision starts fading. _Oh no, not again._ I start to feel myself tipping slightly. I take a glance back to the tributes and notice that Marrissa is fidgeting in her seat. She knows what happens; she's seen me almost pass out before. She's not here to help me this time. _I'd better think of something fast._

"Braunté and I are just friends." I stutter. "She is a girl in my District, but we are just friends, nothing more." The interviewer looked like he was going to interject my answer, but suddenly…

_Bzzzzzzt._

_Saved by the bell._ He nods. "Thank you Jonathan, you may take your seat now." I slowly walk over to my seat to avoid stumbling. The feeling of almost passing out again leaves once I sit back down. Now that that's over, I can just relax… _or so I think._

Next is Cheyenne, then the rat named Joseph Cronen. I ignore most of the questions that are asked of him, mostly because they are all dumb ones, but one at the end catches my ear.

"Joseph," the interviewer says, "you seem to know a lot of the tributes here tonight too. This may seem like a weird question, but who do you want to avoid killing the most?"

Joseph gives a cocky smirk and says, "I think that would be my pal, Jonny."

_That's surprising_, to me at least. "Oh, really?" the guy asks, "and why is that?"

I could see the hit coming before he even said it. "Well," Joseph stated, "I wouldn't want to mess up his life, especially when he has a girlfriend like Braunté."

_WHY THAT LITTLE…!_ As I start to get up, Ashley's hand comes from behind me and pushes me back into the chair. "Let me go, Ashley." I mutter.

She leans down to my ear and whispers, "Save it for tomorrow, you can release all your anger then."

The interviewer, unaware of the rage building inside me, reprimands him "Joseph, we have already established that matter in previous questions. It doesn't need to be brought up again."

Joseph shrugs and replies, "That's okay. We don't need to talk about Braunté and Jon's personal life."

I try to get up again, but Ashley keeps pushing down on my shoulders. Ethan and Mason sitting to the side of me me see me struggling and hold my arms down to the seat.

"Let me go!" I repeat. "I'll kill him!"

Ashley casually replies, "Here's the deal. You have two choices. You can either be constrained by me, or constrained by a Peacekeeper, which do you choose?" I stop struggling.

Joseph gets off the stage once the buzzer rings. He sits at the other side of the room; good thing for him too. There might have only been 23 tributes before the night was over.

Rebecca Accord is up next, then Ethan. I'm too furious at the time to notice the questions. Again, there is only one that I catch at the end.

"Ethan," the interviewer states, "it's widely known that you and Jonathan are close friends. I know that this is a stupid question, and that I've already asked it to most of the tributes who have come through, but what are you going to do? Will you actually fight against your best friend?"

Ethan thinks about this for a minute, and then says, "No, I refuse to hurt Jon."

"That's not a good idea," the interviewer counters, "remember a softie will never get along in these Games. It's hunt or be hunted, when it all comes down to it, Jonathan will be stabbing you in the back the first chance he gets." _Ouch, that hurts. I'm not that crude, am I?_

Ethan stares him directly in the eyes. "Jon will never do that." he says sharply. "We have been friends ever since the 2nd grade. We've had to pull each other out of some tough times during the years. Nothing will pull us apart, not even the Hunger Games. Got that?"

The interviewer holds his hands up in retreat. "Ok, I got it. I'm sure something will work out." The buzzer saves yet another person from the death seat as Ethan retakes his seat next to me.

As Brooklyn's interview starts, I whisper to Ethan, "Do you think that's true? I mean, the whole part of us not killing each other in the end?"

Ethan keeps is gaze directed at the stage. "I don't think that's true, Jon, I know that's true. Our friendship has grown strong enough over the years that not even these Games can break through them. I don't think anything will change in the arena."

I should've thought the same thing. I don't know why I'd think anything would change in the arena. Ethan and I have lived this long together; we'll die together just the same. Not to sound weird or anything…

The rest of the interviews are real flops, in my opinion. You could tell the poor guy was running out of ideas. Although, it probably didn't help much when the answer to most of Billy's questions was, "Milking cows." It probably came as a common answer to him, due to that most of his time spent in District 10 was milking cows. Not even Mason got a decent question to go off of; just stuff about his district and what kind of people he knew in it.

* * *

Finally, after everything is said and done, I'm sitting on my bed constantly looking at the time. The red numbers glare back at me each time. _10:00. Let's get this over with._ I get up and walk out the hall, checking to see if Marrissa had already left yet. If she hasn't I don't want to disturb her. I walk to the elevator and push the roof's floor on the button panel.

I'm late as always; my friends already waiting for me up on the roof. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," I apologize, "I kind of zoned out back there."

"Now's not the time, Jon," Ethan advises, "let's just get this over with."

I glance at the Capitol horizon, then reply, "Yeah, you're right. To make this short, I have an Idea for the teams." I look at the cousins. "Tyler, Brooklyn, Marticka, it'd be best to keep the family together." They glance at each other and agree. "Also, it'd be good to have Marrissa go along with you guys, since Marticka already knows her. You too, Claire."

No objections so far. I turn to another group of people. "I really hate this job, but we don't have any other choice. Billy and Geoff, I feel that you two should be together. I know it's kind of unfair odds compared to everyone else; you might want to join up with Joseph or Marticka's group."

There's a small silence, then Geoff quietly says, "No, I think we can handle ourselves." I nod towards him, then turn to the rest of them.

"And that leaves our group. The seven of us: me, Ethan, Mason, Tyler, Schuyler, Ashley, and John back together again. We've been together ever since the early days. I feel that we might have some luck if we stick together." I suddenly notice that Lapolla and Cronen weren't there. "Hey, has anyone seen Tyler, the other one, since the interviews were over?"

Schuyler shrugs. "I saw him run off as soon as the last interview was finished. I don't know where he went. Hey, what about that Joseph kid?"

I knew that would come up. "He has to find his own group of people to be with, because he certainly isn't coming with us."

I turn back to the group as a whole, "That's all I have to say. If you guys feel that the teams I have chosen are unfair, or if you just don't like them, you can go ahead and change them. These are just suggestions." No objections, I guess I did a good job. "I would like to say something before we part on our separate ways tonight.

"Thank you for all the things you've done over the years. I know that at times I may have seemed like a crummy person, let alone friend, but yet you all still stuck with me. I'm glad to have known all of you in this life. All of you have touched me in some way, even Tyler, Brooklyn, and Marrissa, despite the fact that I've only really gotten to know you over the last month. And when this is all over, I have a feeling that we will all see each other once again, living or dead.

"Over the last few days, I've been more depressed than I usually am because I knew that my whole pack of friends, including me, would be eliminated. Now, I feel differently about this. There's no point in fighting it while I can't change it. 'Enjoy your time while you can.' is something that someone recently said to me. Yet, it just took me until now to realize it. Thank you all…" My voice trails off and I find myself unable to speak anymore.

I don't think I can take anymore conversation tonight. There's a saying out that you should treat every day as if it was your last. I don't think the person who first said it imagined the situation ahead of us. I feel, no, I know that I won't win these Games. _I won't let myself win_. I don't have the heart, or skill, to kill my friends off like some murderer. I hope that I am taken out myself before I have to go face to face with anyone. I have no idea how to feel anymore; there are so many things to deal with at once. We'll have to see what happens tomorrow and the days that follow.

Tomorrow is where all the training matters. I may disagree with fighting about half of the tributes, but that doesn't mean that I can't help them win. I can still help one of my friends get through this death trap.

_I can't start making plans yet. You don't know what's going to happen out there. You don't even know what type of field you'll be in! _Again, we'll just see what happens from here on.

No matter what, though, there is one thing I need to do. I will not let myself go down without completing one goal. To get revenge on the one person who has given me so much grief over the years. I can forgive and forget only after so many times, but tonight was the last straw. I can't let him outlive me, if that sounds sinister enough.

_Joseph, you are my first target._

* * *

_**Cruel friends are cruel...**_

**I'm still working on adding more detail. If there's something really major that I'm missing, or if this whole thing is full out confusing, please let me know. I'll do the best I can to fix it.**

**Thank you again for reading. :3**


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